| The ECHO Panelists |
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Bryan Acker
Bryan is the co-founder of the Canadian music blog, www.herohill.com. Focused on independent Canadian artists, the blog has spent the last seven years highlighting unsung acts and providing a stepping stone for new artists. Bryan is a Polaris juror (Grand Jury in 2009) and wishes more people enjoyed making '80s/early '90s hip-hop references. Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is. This is Bryan’s first year as an ECHO panelist. |
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Denise Benson
Denise Benson is a Toronto-based journalist/broadcaster, DJ and event producer long into championing diverse electronic sounds. For two decades, she’s been one of Canada’s top sources for info about emerging artists and trends, particularly through her long-running Extended Play column for Toronto's Eye Weekly (now The Grid). She also hosted the highly respected Mental Chatter on CKLN 88.1FM for 21 years and has contributed to a number of CBC Radio Two programs. Benson co-produces, programs and DJs the successful Cherry Bomb parties and its sister event, Cherry Bomb Live, with its focus on live music and performance. Denise was a panelist on the inaugural ECHO as well as the past four years. |
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Alan Cross
Alan Cross is the host of the long-running radio documentary series The Ongoing History of New Music. He’s also the curator of www.ExploreMusic.com, a radio-and-web initiative dedicated to music discovery that includes everything from a massive website to a series of podcasts. Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, written four books, recorded four audio books, written liner notes for dozens of CDs, and contributed to magazines and other publications. He’s also a sought-after public speaker and lecturer, writes a weekly national music column for Metro and travels to music festivals all over the world. Alan has been on the ECHO panel for the past two years. |
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Grant Lawrence
Grant Lawrence is the host of various shows on CBC Radio 3, including his weekly podcast. He also hosts a live shift weekdays on Sirius, 6:00p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Pacific. Grant has been on the ECHO panel for the past four years. |
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Aubrey McInnis
Aubrey McInnis is a Calgary-based journalist and disc jockey who's been squeezing her way to the front row of gigs and chasing the real scoop on Canada's music scene since falling in love with Sloan's Smeared in the early '90s. Guided by a love for talking with people and learning their stories, Aubrey has written for various publications including Fast Forward Weekly, Exclaim!, and BeatRoute Magazine, where she served as senior editor. Every Monday night, she hosts and produces the cutting-edge new music show, Aubrey's Shindig! on CJSW 90.9 FM and www.cjsw.com. Aubrey has been a member of our panel for the past five years. |
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Joshua Ostroff
Joshua Ostroff is music editor of the newly-launched Spinner Canada. He first began writing about music as staff critic at the Ottawa Sun, though he's originally from a small British Columbia beach town, and now lives happily ever after in Toronto – where many of the people he interviews live super nearby. He's been a regular contributor to everything from the Globe & Mail and the Toronto Star to Exclaim! and eye Weekly, not to mention various and sundry glossy magazines. Oh, and Joshua first decided to become a music journalist when teenage him spied some dude taking notes way back at Lollapalooza '92. Josh has been an ECHO panellist the last three years. |
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Dan Seligman
An ECHO original, having been a panelist for all six years so far, Dan Seligman was born on August 4, 1976 at 2:20 a.m. in Toronto. He has lived in Montreal for 11 years. He started a music festival called Pop Montreal with some friends six years ago and now it's a runaway success. He used to manage his brother’s band Stars and then he managed The Unicorns. Seligman has continued his role as creative director for Pop Montreal while remaining firmly committed to working with emerging artists in Montreal and beyond. |
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Jonny Stevens
This self-proclaimed music nerd has sailed around the world on a tall ship, toured throughout North America in a van with his band, released five albums, is the Executive Director of the Halifax Pop Explosion, and a part-time faculty member at the Nova Scotia Community College Music Business Program. With about 150 bands in almost two dozen venues, as well as the Music Matters Conference and the Halifax Zine and Label Fair, the Halifax Pop Explosion reaches a diverse audience and provides considerable exposure for new and innovative talent in genres from hip-hop to punk, from folk to indie rock. It is the largest "new music" festival in Atlantic Canada with more than 17,000 attendees annually. This is Jonny’s first year as a member of our panel. |
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Brad Wheeler
Brad Wheeler is a longtime music writer with the Globe and Mail newspaper, based in Toronto. Late nights at such places as the Dakota Tavern, the Silver Dollar Room and the Horseshoe Tavern have left with him giddy with music and with shoes made sticky from those places’ beer-soaked floors. This is Brad’s first year as an ECHO panelist. |
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Jill Wilson
Jill Wilson has been writing about and reviewing music in Winnipeg for 16 years. She’s currently the editor of The Tab, a weekly entertainment supplement in the Winnipeg Free Press, and a regular CD reviewer for the paper. She was on the final jury for the inaugural Polaris Music Prize in 2006 and has been an ECHO panelist for the past five years. |
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